Book Reviews Harp in the South & The Life to Come & My Family and Other Animals

Our MJ Readers book club recently read, ‘The Harp in the South‘ by Ruth Park & ‘My Family and Other Animals‘ by Gerald Durrell. Another one of our clubs the Dundas Readers read ‘The Life to Come‘ by Michelle de Kretser. One group loved their book while the other one not so much. Read what our groups thought about their books below!

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November Book Club Read

We have reached November and our last title for this year! Even if I am running a few days behind

October’s pick ‘Enid, the scandalous life of a glamorous Australian who dazzled the world’ by Robert Wainwright was a huge hit with both me and my mother-in-law.

With both of us being Australian history buffs it was no surprise that we found Enid’s story intriguing! Robert Wainwright wrote in such a way that Enid jumped to life off the pages of the book. In fact I am going to listen to the eAudiobook version on my daily walk and see if it offers a different perspective to Enid’s character. My fascination with Australian history seems to grow all the time. In fact my mother-in-law recommended I read ‘Kings in Grass Castles‘ by Mary Durack one of her favourite books of all time. ‘True North: the Story of Mary and Elizabeth Durack‘ by Brenda Niall looks like another book for my ever growing TBR pile!

Now down to business! Our last title for this year is ‘The Weekend‘ by one of our go to authors, Charlotte Wood.

Summary

People went on about death bringing friends together, but it wasn’t true. The graveyard, the stony dirt – that’s what it was like now . . . Despite the three women knowing each other better than their own siblings, Sylvie’s death had opened up strange caverns of distance between them.

Four older women have a lifelong friendship of the best kind: loving, practical, frank and steadfast. But when Sylvie dies, the ground shifts dangerously for the remaining three. Can they survive together without her?

They are Jude, a once-famous restaurateur, Wendy, an acclaimed public intellectual, and Adele, a renowned actress now mostly out of work. Struggling to recall exactly why they’ve remained close all these years, the grieving women gather for Christmas at Sylvie’s old beach house – not for festivities, but to clean the place out before it is sold.

Without Sylvie to maintain the group’s delicate equilibrium, frustrations build and painful memories press in. Fraying tempers, an elderly dog, unwelcome guests and too much wine collide in a storm that brings long-buried hurts to the surface – and threatens to sweep away their friendship for good.

The Weekend explores growing old and growing up, and what happens when we’re forced to uncover the lies we tell ourselves. Sharply observed and excruciatingly funny, this is a jewel of a book: a celebration of tenderness and friendship that is nothing short of a masterpiece.

For those of you who prefer to read or listen online ‘The Weekend‘ is also available to download as a multi-access title in eBook and eAudiobook format from our rbDigital library!

Happy Reading!

Jody

P.S.

Look out for our December Book Club wrap-up when I share our plans for ‘Reading Together’ in 2021!

Book Club Reviews

There is just no stopping our Dundas Readers Book Club, they really are reading machines!

Last month the Dundas Readers read one of our hugely popular kits ‘A Gentleman in Moscow‘. Which I admit I have been wanting to read for a year or more, ever since the ‘Happy Bookers’ club recommended it as one of their all-time favourites.

Hope you enjoy reading what the Dundas Readers thought of their latest read!

Happy Reading!

Jody

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October Book Club Pick!

Ok, I can’t believe it is time to pick the next Parra Reads online book club title. No sooner do we pick a title and start reading then it is time to start all over again.

September’s title ‘A Thousand Ships’ by Natalie Haynes ended up being a great read! Being a big fan of historical fiction and having not read any books on ancient Greek mythology ‘A Thousand Ships’ was an enjoyable read for me. I love reading historical fiction told from a female perspective. If you do too then this is a must read for you!

Our October pick is ‘Enid, the scandalous life of a glamorous Australian who dazzled the world’ by Robert Wainwright.

October’s pick happened to come into fruition because of my Mother-in-law. Each year as part of her birthday present I buy some lovely handmade fig jams, fresh tea and a book. The books are always about Australia whether it be fiction or non-fiction. When she was younger my Mother-in-law loved nothing better than hooking the caravan up and setting off on a trip around Australia, in fact given any opportunity now she is always off on the train somewhere for lovely day trips exploring new and old towns.

So searching through new release titles I came across ‘Enid’ by Robert Wainwright and thought it would be perfect pick for her birthday. Then after reading the blurb and a bit of the first chapter I thought it would be a good pick for Book Club and luckily enough our rbDigital Library had it available as both a multicap eAudiobook and eBook title, so we can all ‘read along together’

I hope you enjoy it as much as I already am!

Jody

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Book Club Reviews

Our Dundas Book Clubs have been very busy reading and reviewing their book club picks over the last month.

Read what they thought about, ‘The Woman in the Window’, ‘Any Ordinary Day’ and ‘The Alice Network’. All of which have been hugely popular reads with a lot of our clubs.

Enjoy!

Jody

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